Every year, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) requires that certain Title V major source facilities submit their air emission data to the state. EPD submits this emission data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the National Emissions Inventory (NEI) released every three years. The NEI is a comprehensive and detailed estimate of air emissions comprising of data from State, Local, and Tribal air agencies across the country. This data is used by the agencies for rule development, attainment/nonattainment designations, and State Implementation Plans (SIPs) for attainment and maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
For the 2019 reporting period, all Title V major source facilities whose potential emissions are greater than or equal to the following thresholds for any of the indicated pollutants are required to submit emission data to the Georgia EPD by June 30, 2020.
| Pollutant | Thresholds (tons per year) |
| SOx | 2,500 |
| VOC | 250 |
| NOx | 2,500 |
| CO | 2,500 |
| PM10 | 250 |
| PM2.5 | 250 |
| NH3 | 250 |
To determine if your facility exceeds the reporting thresholds, you must calculate the facility’s Potential to Emit (PTE). PTE is the maximum capacity of a source to emit any regulated air pollutant under its physical and operational design. This is calculated as if the source were to operate for 24 hours/day, 365 days/yr (a total of 8,760 hours/yr).
This year, Georgia facilities that exceed the reporting thresholds are required to report emission data through the Combined Air Emission Reporting System (CAERS) instead of the Georgia Environmental Connections Online (GECO) system. To begin, facilities will need to initially log into their GECO account (https://geco.gaepd.org/) and indicate that they meet the thresholds and are required to report. A link will then be provided to the EPA Central Data Exchange (CDX) website (also provided here https://cdx.epa.gov/). CDX is EPA’s hub for electronically submitting various types of reports and is where facilities will access CAERS and submit their air emission data. Facilities will need to create an account on the CDX website and email EPD their facility information to get their account set up for CAERS.
Facilities that do not meet the reporting thresholds will still need to log into GECO and indicate that they do not meet the reporting thresholds in order to opt out of Emission Inventory reporting for the 2019 reporting period.
More information on the 2019 Emission Inventory reporting requirements can be found on the Georgia EPD’s website: https://epd.georgia.gov/forms-permits/air-protection-branch-forms-permits/air-emissions/submit-emissions-inventory.
Conversion Technology Inc. (CTI) has decades of experience in completing emission inventories for many State and Local air agencies. If you need help in determining if your facility is subject to Emission Inventory reporting or in completing the Emission Inventory report, please contact us at (770) 263-6330 or cti@conversiontechnology.com.